In a conventional non-adjustable vehicle wheel suspension system, a vertically extending strut assembly is attached at its upper end to a vehicle body side panel. A pair of laterally extending flanges are mounted on the lower end of the strut assembly. A wheel support member having an end with a flat face is normally bolted in face to face contact between the opposed faces of the flange, thus being held fixedly in place. The wheel support member has fixed to its other end a wheel support assembly with a wheel mounted thereon. In such an arrangement, camber (the relative angle which the central plane of the wheel makes with a vertical axis extending perpendicular to the surface on which the vehicle is supported) is not adjustable. That is, the wheel support member cannot be moved relative to the flange and strut assembly.
The resulting problem is that there is, in this conventional automotive vehicle suspension system, no way to adjust alignment (e.g. camber) to compensate for wear elsewhere in the suspension system. Minor bending of the wheel support member, and inability to get the vehicle unit body precisely back into shape after it is bent in an accident are examples of instances where alignment adjustment is often necessary. In the past, vehicle suspensions incorporating a non-adjustable structure have required high cost repair (e.g. replacement of the entire strut and wheel support member assembly) and in some cases have never been returned to the proper alignment.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,884 granted to Pettibone et al on Mar. 29, 1988, includes a repair piece which is superposed on the strut flange and which provides a guide for elongating the upper bolt hole in the flange so that the camber angle between the strut and the wheel support member can be changed. A cam bolt assembly in combination with a cam plate is used to replace the conventional bolt assembly which fastens the wheel support member to the strut flange. The cam bolt assembly is rotated such that its shaft moves laterally within the elongated bolt hole in the flange thereby moving the wheel support member relative to the flange and strut assembly and thus effecting a camber adjustment. The cam bolt assembly is situated such that a cam body thereon is opposed on each lateral side by a cam engaging flange on the cam plate. This prevents the shaft portion of the cam bolt assembly from moving laterally within the elongated hole in the strut flange except when the cam bolt assembly itself is torqued. Thus the cam body on the cam bolt assembly and the cam engaging flanges on the cam plate are necessary for the rigidity of the final adjustment in Pettibone.
Pettibone modifies the bolt hole in the strut flange by laterally elongating it. The edge of the elongated hole is substantially closer to the free edge of the strut flange than was the original hole. This proximity of the modified hole and the free edge of the strut flange weakens same and thereby adversely affects the structural integrity of the entire wheel suspension system.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a repair improvement for the adjustment of a non-adjustable vehicle wheel suspension system that does not weaken the structural integrity of the system.
A further object of the invention is to provide a repair improvement, as aforesaid, which utilizes conventional bolts to effect alignment adjustment as were originally used to connect the strut flange to the wheel support member.
A further object of the invention is to provide a repair improvement, as aforesaid, which prevents the adjusted wheel support member from moving relative to the strut flange by an arrangement substantially the same as the original non-adjustable arrangement.
A further object of the invention is to provide a repair improvement, as aforesaid, which requires forming only a single circular hole in the strut flange equal in size to the original bolt hole.
A further object of the invention is to provide a repair improvement, as aforesaid, which allows a predetermined desired alignment to be realized on the suspension system without "fine tuning" and experimentation at the time of adjustment.
A further object of the invention is to provide a repair improvement, as aforesaid, which is of simple construction, inexpensive, durable and easy to use.